Plastics design competition winner receives product patent

The winner of the 2015 Design Innovation in Plastics (DIP) competition has received the patent for his product and is now in the process of approaching manufacturers for production.

Alexander Bordino, a third year BSc Product Design student at Nottingham Trent University, revealed the news during an address at the Knowledge Transfer Network's (KTN) recent plastics design workshop.

“It was very exciting to learn that my product had received its patent, and by approaching manufacturers, I am now on the next steps towards getting the pump into production,” explained Bordino.

Bordino redesigned the internal gear pump mechanism inside whipped-style ice cream machines, which was previously made of metal. He was praised for his ingenuity in reducing the number of parts required to make it, producing something which was light and durable, antimicrobial and which would provide cost savings for manufacturers.

At the KTN workshop he talked about the challenges he faced when seeking a new and innovative design for the DIP competition and how polymers provided a myriad of opportunities and design advantages.

"I would not have been able to do this had it not been for the opportunities presented by competitions such as Design Innovation in Plastics. It opened my eyes to the many ways in which plastics can be used, and we all realised that it can provide great career opportunities along the way. The industry needs young people because they are the innovators of the future."

Bordino is currently on a 12-month industrial placement, after which he is due to spend a week with competition sponsors, Covestro, to meet some of the people behind its polymer innovations, and to talk about the development of his own product.

“Polymer products are used in many areas of modern life: they are helping to solve many of the challenges of our time, so we are absolutely delighted that Alex has developed his enthusiasm for high-tech polymers through his design creativity, and that he is making progress with his pump,” said Head of Covestro, UK, Seamus Gillan.

Covestro recently announced it will sponsor the DIP competition, along with other industry partners, once again in 2016. The theme for this year’s entries is ‘Products for Pets – Design for Animal Welfare.’ Further information can be found here.